Mae Toh Koh

Mae Toh Koh and her baby Pupia are with the Elephant Nature Park on maternity leave. They arrived 02 January 2006 on short notice. Mae Toh Koh was working at a trekking tourist camp just down the road from Elephant Nature Park. Her name in English means long legs.

It seemed that her mahout and owner, were unaware of how far along she was in her pregnancy. She had received no time off or special care. One evening, after a day’s work as usual she was taken up to the jungle to be chained for the night. The next morning her mahout found a newborn baby, undersized and weak. The little elephant could hardly stand and was in danger of slipping away.

With fears that inadequate care would lead to their death, the mahout contacted Pom and sought to move his elephants out of the working camp. At three days old, the baby and nursing mother needed rest and nutrition. Even while under contract to work at the camp, the mahout made the tough decision to move out.

The next day, a worn out Mae Toh Koh and her thin little baby wobbled into the park. At first it was thought that baby Pupia had some sort of deformity or injury in one of his back legs, as his ankle bent in and he stumbled a lot. Most likely this was due to not getting enough nutrition in the womb. Because mom didn’t get enough rest or food during pregnancy, his muscles and bones were weak.

Mae Toh Koh arrived with severe swelling in her lower body. She couldn’t eat because her throat was infected, and wouldn’t allow her baby to suckle due to pain. With help from volunteers, Pupia was fed formula from a very large bottle until he gained some strength. Mae Toh Koh was treated using traditional herbal medicine, and has now completely recovered. It wasn’t too long before Pupia was suckling again, and he is now growing into a healthy and playful young boy, with no signs of the bad leg.

They are now part of a 5 member family group, including Pupia’s first auntie, Mai Lai Tong, and the newer arrivals Sri Nuan and Dok Ngern. What a happy group they make seen grazing in the fields together or making frequent trips to the river to cool off.

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